


How To Not Fall Asleep: A Guide

by Dark_Angel23



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Hurt Merlin (Merlin), M/M, Magic Revealed, Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), Sleep Deprivation, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:28:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28191714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dark_Angel23/pseuds/Dark_Angel23
Summary: Merlin hadn't been sleeping well. Arthur noticed when everything nearly went to hell.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 221





	How To Not Fall Asleep: A Guide

To say it had been a difficult week for Merlin would be an understatement. With trying to figure out how to avoid an upcoming attack by a group of Odin’s men, doing chores for both Arthur and Gaius, and dealing with Kilgarrah’s nonsense which was a sorry excuse for advice, it was a miracle that he hadn’t kicked the bucket yet. Or even fainted. Then at least he would get some sleep.

“Merlin! Have you sharpened my sword yet?” Arthur’s voice rang out just as Merlin burst in his room with a load of laundry in his arms. 

Crap. He’d forgotten.

He shook his head a little, trying to get the pounding headache he had had for the past couple of days to recede. He had given up on trying to get rid of it, and was only trying to make it feel like his head won’t burst open any second.

“Merlin?” Arthur’s voice came again.

“No,” Merlin whispered, but he doubted Arthur could hear it from the mountain of clothes obscuring him.

“What did you say?” Arthur asked.

Merlin dropped the load on a nearby chair. “I said no, I didn’t.” He would probably get punished for this, but he couldn’t bring himself to really care. Whatever was going to happen couldn’t be worse than whatever was happening right now anyway. Maybe he might even get some sleep.

He hadn’t seen himself in the mirror lately, but he was sure he didn't look healthy.

He just hoped no one would notice.

He picked a tunic up, trying to fold it, as Arthur stood nearby, trying to process what he just said.

“What in the world Merlin! Go and do it now!” He yelled. Merlin sighed and abandoned the tunic, making his way out of the door.

He had hoped that he might be able to catch a nap in the armory while he was sharpening the sword, but those plans had been shattered when he entered the underground cavern and realised that one of the blacksmiths was battering a bent sword back to its shape. Why was he doing it in the armoury, he had no idea, but Merlin couldn’t very well ask him to leave.

So he sat down in the furthest corner, a whetstone in his hand. The clanging of the blacksmith’s hammer was in rhythm with the pounding in his head.

_ Clang! _

_ Clang! _

_ Scrape… _

_ Clang! _

_ Scrape… _

_ Scrape… _

_ Clang! _

About a quarter of an hour later, Merlin couldn’t keep his eyes open, no matter how much he tried to. That problem was solved when a sharp slice of pain shot through his arm. The sword had slipped from his shaking hands. Huh. He hadn’t noticed them shaking before.

“Ow! What the-” He whispered, gazing at the bleeding cut on his hand. He thought about healing it with magic, but his head pounded at the very thought.

_ Oh well _ , he thought,  _ at least the pain will keep me awake. _

****

He soon realized that his shaking hands would be the biggest problem. He was spilling everything that he was holding, and this was the third vial that had slipped from his hands. He had stopped the first two from smashing on the floor with magic, each spell driving a spear of pain through his mind.

“What is it with you today boy?!” Gaius exclaimed, exasperated at the boy who was standing looking at the broken glass, a blank look on his face.

“Huh?” Merlin looked up, to see Gaius staring at him with a vaguely worried expression on his face. “No nothing, just feeling a little tired, that’s all.” That was putting it mildly. He picked up a rag from a nearby table and started wiping off the liquid that had fallen onto the floor. He didn’t even bother identifying it.

****

“Ow Merlin! Watch what you are doing!” Arthur’s sharp voice cut through the fog that was accumulating in Merlin’s head. He hissed, and barely managed to shift the goblet of wine he was holding from one hand to the other before it slipped.

It didn’t work anyway, as the second hand was shaking as badly as the first, and the wine spilled anyway.

Right on Arthur’s white trousers.

Merlin stilled and squeezed his eyes shut, mentally preparing himself for the barrage of insults that were sure to come soon.

They never did.

He tentatively opened his eyes, Arthur’s worried look coming into view.

“When did you last sleep?” He asked sharply.

Merlin didn’t know. Maybe a week?

“I - I don’t know.” He whispered. He didn’t have the energy to say it louder.

“Dammit Merlin. I knew something was wrong when I didn’t hear your usual chatter.”

Merlin felt the last strip of energy leave his body, and his knees gave out below him.

He collapsed.

Fortunately Arthur was standing close by, and just managed to grab him before he cracked his head on the stone floor.

Before he blacked out, however, the window next to his bed shattered, an arrow whishing past and hitting the stone wall opposite.

Odin’s men.

He knew that they had planned to attack today, at nighttime, but he must have lost track of time.

Using the last shards of his reserve energy he was using for surviving, he enchanted a bread knife sitting on the table, making it fly out of the window. He missed the tiny fact that Arthur didn't know about his magic.

His face was the last thing before everything went black. He couldn’t even interpret the emotion.

****

“He should be awakening soon, my lord. We could take him back to my chambers. You probably want to rest.” Gaius’ voice reached Merlin’s ears as he slowly returned to the land of the living.

“Nonsense. I’m fine. And how will you take him anyway?” Arthur replied.

“The guards can help-”

“No. He stays here. We need to have a talk anyway.”

There was a pause of a few seconds, and then footsteps going away. The bed dipped beside him, like someone had sat down on it.

“I know you are awake. Come on, get up. We need to talk.”

Panic seized Merlin’s throat. He was going to be killed. He knew it. So he decided to pretend to be unconscious for some more time, even though he knew it would do nothing except prolong the inevitable.

The next second, a horrible smell reached Merlin’s nose, activating his gag reflex.

He shot up, coughing.

“That’s the way to do it.” Arthur commented, tossing the sock that he had put to Merlin’s nose across the room.

“So, you practice magic.” Arthur said when Merlin was done coughing. He noticed that Arthur was purposely not looking at him. “I should order your execution immediately, but I will give you a chance to explain yourself. Not that it will make any difference.”

Merlin took a deep breath. “I don’t practice magic. I was born with it.”

Now that he wasn’t that sleep deprived anymore, his mind could form coherent thoughts and was trying its best to get him out of this pickle.

Arthur scoffed. “No one is _ born  _ with magic. It’s always a choice.”

“It wasn’t with me. I can’t help it.”

There was silence as Arthur absorbed the new information. “I don’t believe you.”

“Then don’t.” He replied, swinging his legs off the bed. He wasn’t going to waste his time trying to convince someone he was sure wouldn’t understand. “I’ll show myself out. Both out of the room and Camelot.”

“Now just hold on a second.” Arthur said sharply. “I haven’t dismissed you yet.”

“Don’t bother.”

“Why did you help me?”

Merlin stopped. “What?” He hadn’t expected this.

“Yesterday, after you enchanted the - the blade, and made it fly out of the window, I heard screaming. The guards caught the men there, and turned out they were Odin’s men sent to kill me. Why did you help me?”

Merlin paused and turned around to him, processing what he just asked. “Not everyone with magic is evil. I’ve been trying to show that to you for years. Now if you don’t mind, I have a lot of packing to do.”

“Wait.” Arthur said, suddenly appearing in front of him. How did he get there so quickly? “You’re not going anywhere.”

“Well, I am not going to wait until you have my head chopped off, just because you said so.” He snapped.

Arthur took a step back. “I am not going to have your head chopped off.”

“You’re… Not?”

“Of course not. You didn’t have a choice. Now it is going to be a problem to hide you from my father, but I think I’ll manage.”

“I did,” Merlin mumbled. “For a good amount of time.”

Arthur chuckled, ruffling his hair, and removed his hand before Merlin could swat it away.

“Come on, we have a lot to talk about.”


End file.
